Volume 14
Number 1
WARS
ARE ALL TOO COMMON in many parts of the world, causing huge loss of
human life, untold suffering, and large-scale social and economic
disruption. Wars also have multiple impacts on biodiversity and protected areas, and livelihoods of local people dependent on natural resources.
Some environmental effects of armed conflict may be positive: for example, vegetation and wildlife may flourish in areas where access by people is limited, such as demilitarised zones. Impacts can be highly variable, and may be positive in some areas and negative in others (McNeely 1998). Very often, though, war has serious negative effects directly or indirectly on conservation. This article focuses on the negative impacts, and actions that protected area
managers and conservation authorities can take to mitigate them.
Negative impacts are driven by factors such as the breakdown in rule of law; increased abundance of firearms; disruption of economic activity, agricultural production and trade; increased dependence on wild resources; and mass movements of people. The main direct impacts occur through habitat destruction, over-exploitation of natural resources, and pollution
